Activities
A visit to the “home” of the Lusitano horse by Mafalda Possolo
Hearing so much nowadays about the “Lusitano” horse, it was with keen anticipation that a group of British Historical Society members from Lisbon, Estoril and even Oporto set out on 17th March for a day’s outing to visit the Coudelaria de Alter, at Coutada do Arneiro, near Alter do Chão.
Driving across the vast Alentejo plain, now sadly affected by the drought, but nonetheless fascinating, we saw many storks flying overhead or sitting on their nests as we approached Alter.
The Coudelaria was founded in 1748 by King John V as a stud farm to provide horses for the royal riding school. (Incidentally one of the horses bred here, Gentil, was the model for the equestrian statue of D.José, in the Praça do Comércio).
The stud went through an unsettled period during the 19th century and was taken over by the military in 1910 at the implantation of the Republic. But it was in 1942 that Dr. Rui de Andrade began the re-establishment of the Lusitanian horse under the Alter Real brand.
Today the stud is maintained by the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fishing and the stability of the Alter horse is guaranteed.
On arrival at the Coudelaria we were first taken to the Falconry. Here, Dr. Carlos Crespo explained to us some aspects of the ancient art, associated with hunting, of training and working with birds of prey. It is believed that it began in Central Asia long ago and was brought to the Iberian Peninsula in the 5th century. “Hawking” achieved great importance in the Middle Ages and again in the 18th century. We were shown a number of owls, hawks, falcons, eagles, etc., all bred in captivity at Alter, and were given a demonstration of their flight and their prowess in catching their prey.
Next we were shown round the museum – housing many items of armoury, etc., and also a collection of carriages which were used for a variety of purposes.
A visit to the stables, followed, where the mares and foals were housed, and here it was explained to us how the young foals are treated until they reach maturity. The first four years are spent at pasture in Azambuja and they then returned to Alter to be broken in and classified.
The stallions were housed in a separate building and we were told how one could tell their age by their name as all horses born in a certain year have names beginning with same letter! Here, again, a selection is made, the finer specimens being destined to go to the Escola Portuguesa de Arte Equestre, others being kept for breeding purposes and the remainder sold at an annual horse auction at the Coudelaria on the 24th March.
Our visit ended, we stopped for a very welcome lunch at Alter, an interesting and very typical alentejano town, and on our return trip crossed a two thousand year old Roman bridge near Ponte de Sôr. We then skirted the Montargil reservoir, and driving, via Montemor, made our way back to Lisbon.
Thus ended a lovely outing so greatly enjoyed by all. Our thanks go to Patricia and Millie for organizing it.